A community organization dedicated to stopping gang violence in Colorado Springs celebrated its third anniversary Sunday.

Men of Influence, a group of about 40 community members, civic leaders and former gang members, was established in July 2021 in an effort to persuade rival gang members to consider exchanging words and ideas instead of bullets, said founding member Brandon Shupp.

“We were seeing too much violence in our streets,” said Shupp, the lead pastor at Story Church. “So we decided to try to get some gang leaders to sit down and see if we could get the different sets to communicate with each other.”

Getting gang members to set aside long-standing rivalries and resentments has been a long process, fraught with occasional setbacks, according to Men of Influence leaders.

“We’ve been in some crazy rooms,” said founding member “Big” Will Starks.

“It’s taken some time to begin to build trust,” Shupp said. “Remember, some of these young people have actually shot at each other.”

The plan, according to Shupp, was to try to reduce gang violence one area at a time, starting with Memorial Park.

“We talked with these different leaders and declared Memorial Park a ‘safe zone,’ a place that’s off-limits to gang violence,” he said.

“That was in the summer of 2021. Since then, there has not been a gang-related shooting at the park. There has been violence, and there have been shootings, but they have not been gang-related.”

Seven months ago, a deadly incident at The Citadel mall convinced Men of Influence that they needed to establish another safe zone.

On Christmas Eve, a fight at the east-side shopping center escalated to gunfire, killing Teryus Thomas, 18, and wounding two. Colorado Springs police did not say the shootings were gang-related, but did acknowledge that the fight was between “two groups who were known to each other.”

After holding an anti-violence rally at the mall a few days after the shooting, leaders at the organization began working toward making the mall a safer place for shoppers.

“We started having guys show up at random times throughout the week, just walking the mall, showing a presence,” Shupp said.

Meanwhile, the communication efforts continued.

“What we need to remember is that these are young people, and most young people have someone that they look up to,” founding member Shaun Walls said in an earlier interview with The Gazette. “If you can find that person and get a dialogue going, that goes a long way.”

To that end, some members still maintain a loose gang affiliation, Shupp said.

“If you are all the way out of the gang life, you lose credibility, and people won’t listen to you.”

In June, Men of Influence established a headquarters inside the mall, occupying a space donated by the mall’s management group.

“We pay (for) utilities to keep things working, but management gave us the space, rent-free, because they can see the value in having us here,” Shupp said.

On Sunday, the space was alive with music and laughter as the organization celebrated its third anniversary. The event, which coincided with Global Day of Compassion, featured a backpack giveaway (more than 300 new backpacks filled with school supplies) and free haircuts.

“Good vibes and good people,” Shupp said. “That’s what today is about.”

Inside the headquarters, Men of Influence member DeMarcus Hysten high-fived kids as he held his own daughter, Teagan, and exclaimed, “Happy Day of Compassion! Show some love today!”

“Think about what has happened in this mall, not even seven months ago,” said Hysten, an Army veteran and father of six. “This place was empty. No one wanted to come here. But look at all the people here. This is how it should be.”